Tank and liquid level indicator



1 F. E. WHITE ET AL Re. 19,285

- TANK A ND LIQUID LEVEL INDICATOR THEREFOR Original Filed JuIy 25, 19313 Sheets-Sheet l lllllllll lll|l 2. fave i 501:9

Aqg. 1934. v F, 5 WHITE ET AL Re. 19,285

TANK ANlj LIQUID LEVEL INDICATOR THEREFOR Original Filed July 25, 1931 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Aug. 21, 1934; F. E. WHITE El AL 19,235

TANK AND LIQUID LEVEL INDICATOR THEREFOR Original Filed Juiy 25, 1931 5Sheets-Sheet 5 Reissued Aug. 21, 1934 UNITED STATES TANK Ann LIQUIDLEVEL INDICATOR rnnasroa Fred E. White and Alfred Ruttiman, Gardner,Mass, assignors to Florence Stove Company, Gardner, Mass., a corporationof Massachusetts Original No. 1,911,099, dated May 23, -1933, Serial No.553,160, Julyf25, 1931. Application for reissue February 12, 1934,Serial No. 710,954

21 Claims.

One object of the present invention is to provide a tank for oil stovesand the like adapted to be set either in upright position for feeding orin reversed position for filling and having means to indicate'the levelof the oil in either position of said tank, said indicating means beingcommon to both positions of the tank in the sense that the samemechanism will serve equally as an indicator for both the upright andreversed positions of said tank.

Another object is to provide a gauge which is particularly simple in'constructionand highly efiicacious in operation for association with aliquid tank or reservoir occupying one position during feeding andanother during filling, which gauge will readily indicate theapproximate liquid condition in the tank, orliquid level during both ofthe positions of the tank.

A further object is to provide oil level indicating means havinggraduations that can be readily read Whether the tank be in workingposition on the lower reservoir or in an upside down position forfilling with oil or other liquid.

A further object is to provide such an indicating mechanism as may belocated in substantially 1 the'plane of one wall of the-tank so that thefloat carrying arm may be of the maximum length in respect to the crosssectional dimension'of the tank. In other words, we aim to provide suchan arrangement that the float may be located closely adjacent one wallof the tank whereas the indicating mechanism maybe located closelyadjacent or substantially in the same vertical plane of the other wallof the tank, thus enabling a 5 long float arm to be employed, extendingsub-- stantially from one wall entirely across the tank to the otherwall.

In the drawings Figure 1 ,is a vertical sectionalview in part' .of

.40 a tank with the oil level indicator combined therewith and shownwith certain tion.

Figure 2 is a front view of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a view of the gauge mechanism parts in sec- 5 looking fromthe right of Figure 1.

' Figure 4 is a detail sectional view of the dial member.

Figure 5 are .views of the float arm supporting member. 7

Figure 6 shows the crank therefor.

Figure 7 shows views'of the pointer. Figure 8 shows views of powertransmitting fork.

Figure 9 shows the pivot pin.

float, and the arm and in other words, below the horizontal axis.

Figures 10, 11,'and 12 are views of a modification.

Figures 13 and 14 fication.

Figures 15 and 16 are views of dials and graduations. 1

Figures 17, 18 and 19 are views-of a further modification. In thedrawings the oil reservoir or tank a may be generally of ordinary form.It has a portion of its wall indented at b and at this indented portionthe'oil level gauge is located. This gauge comprises 'a housing 2consisting of a thin shell of frusto-conical form having a flange 2a,with an upturned rim 2b. The dial graduations are applied in anysuitable manner to the inclined side of this housing. There are two setsof these graduations, oneupside-down in relation to the other. Thehousing is' so related to the tank. that the axis of' the conical shapedbody is horizontal in both the normal and re-' versed-positions of thetank. 'One set of graduations is applied to that portion or side of thisconical housing which is uppermost when the a tank is in normalposition. That .is to say, one so set of graduationsare on that portionof the. housing which lies above the horizontal axis of the housing andthe other set of graduations is on that portion of the inclined surfaceof. the housing which is on the lower side'thereof or Each set ofgraduations lies partly on the left and partly on the right of avertical plane passing through the axis of the housing.

The upper set of graduations as shown in Fig. 2 at c are readable whenthe tank is in normal position whereas the lower set of graduations dare upside-down when the tank is in normal up-' right position, but whenthe tank is reversed for filling then the latter graduations are uprightfor quick reading while the other orfirst mentioned are views of anothermodiof different forms 60 set 0 are upside-down.

'I'ht frusto-conical gauge housing is combined with a crank support 3which consists of a sheet metal member having a base portion 3a and-a 10flange 3b extending at substantially right angles to the base. Thismember also has upstanding ears 8 perforated to aiford bearings for acrank in a central hole thereof a stud or pin 4 on the outer pointed endof which an index member or pointer 5 is mounted to swing freely.

This index or pointer consists of arms bent downwardly from the mainportion thereof to conform to the conical side of the housing. The pin 4at its rear end has pivotally attached thereto the magnet 6. This magnethas secured to its side a fork member 12 with which engages the crankportion 9a of the right angularly bent portion of the float arm 9 sothat as the float rises or falls the crank will operate the fork so asto turn the magnet about its axis which is the axis of the pin 4 andthus the pointer 5 will be caused to move over the dial to the propergraduation thereon to indicate the oil level.

As above indicated the graduations are so disposed that those on theupper side or inclined wall of the housing will be readily visible orlegible by the observer because owing to the general position of thetank the upper inclined side of the conical housing will besubstantially at right angles to the line of vision of the observer,whereas, the graduations at the lower half of the frusto-conical housingwill be in a plane substantially coinciding with the line of vision andhence will. be more or less hidden from view. The observer, therefore,will not be confused in making his reading from the gauge in respect tothe oil level prevailing at the moment.

The fork shaped member or gear 12 may be secured to the side of themagnet either by soldering or riveting. The crank arm 9a of the floatarm will operate in "connection with this fork without lost motion sothat the movement of the float will be communicated accurately to themagnet. Thetransparent member 1 is held by the overturned flange 2a ofthe housing. The crank -supporting member 3 is formed with a pluralityof bosses or extrusions 7 which aid as means for mechanically fasteningthe gauge in the opening of the tank wall and as intimated above, bysoldering the flange of the housing to the tank wall an air tightconnection was obtained. The movement of the float arm 9 will bearrested by coming in contact with the flange 3b of the crank support 3.It will be noticed that the float and the mechanism operated therebywill have a substantially similar action whether the tank be in normalupright position or in a reversed position,.

the movement of "said float arm being communicated directly from thecrank 9a through the fork 12 to the magnet so as to turn the sameabout-the axis of the pin 4 and thus rotate the point.

Referring to Figures 10, 11 and 12 asoft steel ball 14 is movablymounted in a runway 15 of a gauge housing 20 and is held in positionopposite the ends or poles of the magnet 6a.- This magnet is fastened tothe right angularly bent portion or crank arm 9b of the float arm 9 byany suitable means such as a clamp, a pin or simply by frictionalcontact; At each side of the magnet the housing 20 is provided with abearing 18. This housing 20 has its main portion 2d formed on acurvelike a portion of a cylinder and the groove 15 is formedin the face ofthis curved portion. The dial graduations are carried by the each sideof the groove 15. The graduations on the right hand side of the grooveare in correct position throughout for reading when the tank is innormal upright position, whereas the graduations on the left side of thegroove are upside-down when the tank is in normal upright position. Whenthe tank is reversed the graduations on the left side, as referred toabove, assume a position reversed in respect to that shown in Fig. 11 sothat they are readily readable whereas the graduations first mentionedassume a positionupside-down. In this way the observers attention isalways directed to the correct graduation on the right hand side of therunway 15. Movement of the float will be imparted to the magnet, thepoles of which swing in a curved path conforming closely to the curve ofthe housing, and the soft metal ball will be moved to correspond to themovement of the magnet and thus by its position indicate the oil levelaccording to the graduation which is adjacent the position to which theball is moved. Referring to Fig. 13, instead of employing the soft metalball as the indicator or index,v we show a wire 14a having its ends 14bbent inwardly towards each other and seated in sockets 2e of a domeshaped housing 2 This wire is adapted to swing over the surface of thisdome shape housing, it being actuated by the magnet when this is swungby the movement of the float arm and its crank. The dial graduations forthis modification shown in Fig. 13 are shown in Fig. 14 and consist of asingle row of spaced apart, diamond-shaped figures. The graduations maybe of any of the familiar forms. 0n the dial at the end of the row arelocated the words, or symbols, Full" and Empty, one of the words beingin normal reading position and the other in inverted position. At theopposite end of the row of graduations cor- .curved face of this housingin two sets, one on responding-words or symbols are arranged. The

ing the liquid level condition in the tank, and the observeris stillfurther aided by numerals associated with the graduations. .As shown inFig.

'14, at the right hand side of the graduations the numerals A", /2 andare arranged in normal reading position, and corresponding numerals ininverted position are located on the left hand side of the graduations.

In Fig. 15 a flat dial f is shown and across the center of this anupstanding wall 9 is arranged so that the graduations on the lower' sideof the dial will be hidden or obscured from view and when the tank isturned upside-down the other set of graduations will be obscured. Inthis form the glass'member is of dome shape. In Fig. 16. the dial isflat as shown at h and the glass i is also of flat form. In thismodification the graduations in the upside-down position on the bottomsection forming the dial are not readily readable and hence theattention of the observer will be directedto the top row of graduationsand the same thing is true when the tank is turned upside-down. Thepointers of Figs. 16 and 17 are each operated in accordance with theinfluence 19,285 1 arranged similarly ers extending in oppositedirections, a magnet of a magnet (not shown), to that shown in Fig. 1.

In Figures 17, 18 and 19 is shown another form of the invention in whichthe frusto-conical dial member is formed of brass and the member whichserves as a support for the float arm is of pressed steel. These may besoldered together along the periphery of the said supporting member atthe point C. The support for the crank is placed directly against theend of the conical dial member andthe flange of the crank supportingmember is pressed at points y--y so that stops are provided for theswinging float carrying arm.

of the pointer and Screw threads may be formed at z to facilitatemechanical locking of the gauge body with the wall of the tank.

Referring to Figs. 15 and 16 it will be noticed that when the tank isempty, and likewise when it is full, the pointer stands at aninclination to a vertical plane lying along the axis of rotation thegraduations are so disposed in relation to this inclined pointer thatreadingof the dial graduations can be effected with equalfacilitywhether the tank be in feeding or filling position.

We claim:

1. A tank reversible from its normal feeding position to a position forfilling, said tank having liquid level indicator means operative in boththe said feeding and filling positions, and comprising index meansmounted on the tank. a float within the tank, connections between thefloat and index means for operating the latter in either the feeding orfilling positions of the tank, a set of graduations carried by the tankcooperating with the index to indicate the liquid level within the tankwhen in feeding position and a second set of graduations also carried bythe tank to indicate the liquid level when the tank is reversed intofilling position, each set of graduations being reversed in positionrelative to the other set, substantially as described.

2. A tank according to claim 1 having mounted thereon a dial member ofgenerally conical form with the sets of graduations at opposite sides ofan axial plane of said dial, substantially as described.

3. A reversible tank according to claim I having mounted thereon a dialpresenting a convexly curved outer surface in respect to the plane ofthe tank wall, said dial having thereon the two sets of graduations,substantially as described.

4. A tank according to claim 1 in which the index means consists of atwo armed pointer, said pointer being pivotally mounted on the tankintermediate of its arms, one set of graduations being adjacent the pathof the end of one arm and the other set being adjacent the path of theend of the other arm, substantially as described.

5. A tank reversible from its normal feeding position to a position forfilling having a' movable index and a dial carried thereby, a floatwithin the tank connected with the index for moving it according to thechanges in the level of liquid in the tank and in either position, ofthe said tank, two sets of graduations carried by the tank cooperatingwith the index to indicate the liquid level, one set for the feedingposition and the other for the filling position of said tank, each,

set being easily readable when viewed from the same point at'which theother set is not easily readable.

6. A tank reversible for filling having an oil level indicator mountedin its, side wall, said indicator including a pivoted index havingpointturnable about the axial line of the index for controlling saidindex, a horizontally disposed crank arranged adjacent the back of themagnet, bearings for said crank, said crank being connected to themagnet to turn the same and a float connected to the crankfor operatingthe same.

7. In apparatus according to claim 6, a pin about which the index turns,said magnet also being supported and turnable about said pin.

8. Apparatus according to claim 6 in which the magnet carries a forkoil-set relative to the pivot of said magnet, said crank being connectedwith the magnet by engaging said fork, substantially as described.

9. In apparatus according to claim 6 a float carrying arm in a portionof which the crank is formed, said crank extending substantially atright angles to the main body of said float arm, substantially asdescribed.

10. A tank-reversible for filling, oil level indicating means carriedthereby having a dial, an

right angularly extending portion is journalled,

a magnet for operating the index, and means' for operating the magnetfromthe right angularly extending portion to the float. arm, sub:stantially as described.

12. A tank having an oil level indicator comprising a dial and indexlocated substantially in the plane of one wall of the tank, a magnetlocated immediately adjacent the dial and associated with the index foroperating the same, a float,v and an arm carrying the float and having acrank portion connected to the magnet for operating the same,substantially as described.

13. In combination a tank and a gauge having a convex shapednon-magnetic housing with a ball race therein, a ball index movable insaid race, a magnet having its poles adapted to swing in the arc of acircle, a float, an arm carrying said float and having an end portionextending at right angles to the main part of the arm, said magnet beingfixed to said right angularly extending portion of the arm, and abearing on bent end to which the magnet is attached, said' float armbeing pivotally-mounted by means of said bent end and operating themagnet which in turn operates the index, substantially as described.

15. In combination in a tank gauge, a dial member, a crank supportingmember, "a float,

arm having a crank mounted in said supporting member, saidsupportingmember having stops pressed from the wall thereof to limit themovementof the float arm, substantially as described.

16. In combination a reversible tank having a dial and an index forindicating the liquid level in the tank in both its normal and reversedpositions, a float within the tank, means operated thereby for operatingthe index, said in-- dex consisting of a. pointer having arms extendingin opposite directions, said pointer being pivotally mounted at a pointintermediate the two arms, and two sets of graduations, one for eachpointer arm, each set of graduations being substantially concentric withthe path of the end of the pointer arm with which it cooperates, thegraduations of one set being substantially upside down in respect tograduations of the other set, the said index having its arms normally i.e. when the tank is empty, at an angle to a plane disposed verticallyand axially of thepivot of said index, the graduations in one set beinglocated opposite graduations of like degree in the other set,substantially as described.

17. An appliance according to claim 5 in which the graduations of oneset are upside down in relation to the graduations of the other set,substantially as described.

18. In combination with a tank reversible from its normal position forfeeding into a position for filling, said tank having liquid levelindicator means operative in both the said feeding and fillingpositions, and comprising index means and a dial mounted on the tankwall, a

float within the tank, means operated by said float for operating theindex, said dial having its opposite wall portions divergent'towards thetank wall and arranged at substantially opposite inclinations to saidwall, said dial carrying two sets of graduations, one set to cooperatewith the index to indicate the level of the liquid when the tank isinfeeding position, and the other set cooperating, with the index toindicate the level of the liquid when the tank is in reversed positionfor filling, said graduations being on the opposite divergent sides ofthe dial, the uppermost graduations being thus more legible than thelowermost. graduations when the dial is viewed from a level above thatof the axis of the dial, substantially as described.

19. A gauge, for a reservoir occupying one position during the feed ofthe liquid therefrom .the tank being presented in normal readingposition and the other not, a float and connections between the floatand the indicator for moving the same in reference to the symbols.

20. A gauge for indicating the liquid level in -each of two positions ofa reversible liquid tank,

comprising a dial, an indicator movable across the dial, a float in thetank, means interposed between the float and indicator for moving thelatter corresponding to the movement of thefloat, indicator symbols onthe dial adjacent opposite ends of the path of travel of the indicatordenoting extreme positions of the liquid level in one position, of thetank and in normal reading position during said position of the tank,and corresponding symbols adjacent the opposite ends of the path ofmovement of the indicator in inverted reading position in reference tothe first named symbols.

21. A dial gauge for a tank having a liquid feeding position and aninverted filling position for indicating the level of the liquid contentof the tank in either of said two positions, comprising a dial, anindicator mounted to have movement across the face of the dial,-saiddial having adjacent to each end of the path of travel of the indicatora pair of symbols inverted in reference to each other and connoting theextremes of the liquid level, one symbol of each pair occupying a normalreading position in one position of the tank and the remaining symbolsoccupying a normal reading position in the inverted position of thetank, afloat, and means interposed between the float and the indicatorfor causing the same to move to positions along. its path of travelcorresponding to the liquid level in the tank in either of said twopositionsthereof and into operative relation to all the symbols.

FRED E. WHITE.

ALFRED. RUTTIMAN.

